5 Who We Are
Who We Are
Denim Belville, Class of 2017, from Chino, California.
She joined this learning cluster because she heard about the construction of a high speed rail system in California and wanted to get a better idea of what that would mean for her home state. Growing up in Southern California meant her only form of transportation was by car and she wanted to get a first-hand experience of a rail system in the United States. Her favorite part of the trip was being able to explore the different cities by foot, bus, and subway and then realizing how easy it could be to get from place to place without a car. From this learning cluster, she discovered that she appreciated the speed and simplicity of the high speed rail systems and that she is excited for the one in California to be finished.
Lauren Broker, Class of 2017, from Gilbert, Arizona
Concentration: Social and Behavioral Sciences
She joined the High Speed Rail learning cluster because of her interest in transit systems in and between big cities due to it being something that she had never before experienced. Throughout the cluster, she came to the realization that while she enjoyed how trains and subways made getting around easy, she could never live in a big, congested city.
Desiree Fernandez, Class of 2017, from Las Vegas, NV.
She participated in the High Speed Rail Learning Cluster because she was interested in the process of public transit planning. Being from Las Vegas, public transit isn't highly promoted or used. Most of the city is dependent on automobile transportation, which is an environmental concern she has. Her favorite part of the trip was being able to have the opportunity to explore each of the cities and then compare them. This learning cluster taught her that it takes a long time for any federal project to be planned, better yet completed. It was interesting to meet all the departments who were apart of this megaproject and understand their role in the completion of High Speed Rail projects.
Joyce Joko Cheong, Class of 2015, from Hacienda Heights, California
Concentration: Humanities
She participated in this Learning Cluster because she was interested in the urban design and architecture planning process behind the development of high speed rail. From this learning cluster, she saw how a great design was not enough for a successful public transport system, how significant financial and political issues were, and how difficult it is to maintain the public's interest in order to proceed with building or rebuilding the high speed rails were. Being in the East Coast, she saw how every city's unique characteristics impacted the ways in which developers had to approach projects for building the public transit systems in that area. As a result, she looks forward to the ongoing high speed rail
project in California.
Luis Herrera, Class of 2016, from Santa Ana, California
Concentration: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Luis joined this learning cluster to further his knowledge of high speed rail and experience the differences between transportation on the east coast and the west coast. He was interested in this topic due to talks of establishing high speed rail in California. From this cluster, Luis learned more about sustainable cities and how a large city is able to function properly. Luis plans to support future developments in sustainable transit with his new
found understanding of transportation.
Kayleigh Levitt, Class of 2016, from Georgia
Concentration: Environmental Studies
Kayleigh joined this cluster because she is interested in pursuing a career in sustainable land use in an urban environment. What Kayleigh realized through this cluster is that urban environments would be more liveable if they were connected with nature. She plans on furthering her studies of open space preservation and urban gardening as elements of city
planning.